Odyssey Dawn

Unsurprisingly, the Libya conflict has resulted in outrageous political claims.  Although we have been fighting two wars for a decade, without major calls for cessation, this much more limited conflict has drawn attack from the right.  The obvious conclusion: only wars started by Republicans are acceptable, any Democratic operation is reckless and a waste of American resources.  As usual talk is the opposite of reality.  The current president hasn't started anything, certainly not three wars.  He has worked on ending one (as much as it will ever be really ended) and has joined one by request of England, France, the Arab League and the U.N.  Whatever the real political reason for confronting Libya (including the 180 turn by France and Italy since 1986), it seems that 2011 has presented real opportunities for democracy.  As Michio Kaku has recently discussed, the spread of democracy is an important development in transitioning to a Type I civilization.  This is my argument for supporting Operation Odyssey Dawn, along with the fact that the Libyan actions of the 1980s have not been fully resolved (Reagan would be proud) and I believe it will also present an opportunity to reassess military spending in more practical terms.